After returning to the court for the first time since 2022, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams won her first doubles match in the HSBC Championship at Queen's Club. But Williams didn't seem very satisfied with her game.

It was the first round in the championship, with Williams and her partner, World No. 9 Victoria Mboko, facing the No. 3-seeded Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe. While Williams and Mboko beat them 7-6, 6-2, the veteran champ had mixed feelings about how she played.

"I think Vicky’s doing great. Need to make some returns next match, which I will. I didn’t miss one in practice. But ugh, that was a little embarrassing out there. The good news is I can do better."

While Williams was embarrassed by her performance, the match saw her deliver strong backhands and serve at up to 120 mph. Both Williams and Mboko made two aces and won 69 percent of the service points.

Williams' performance comes as no surprise, as the  73 singles titles holder has dominated the grass for decades. Her seven Wimbledon titles, seven Australian Open titles, six US Open titles, and three Roland Garros titles are a testament to why she is one of the greatest of all time.

Mboko also said that this match would be helpful for her upcoming singles match.

"I have singles tomorrow so I really like how I got to use this as a little bit of more repetition, and I know going into tomorrow it’s going to be a bit better," Mboko said.

While Mboko plays her singles match, Williams will now look forward to the next round.

Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko's Next Challenge

Mboko will play her singles match in the HSBC Championship against Czech player Karolína Plíšková. Williams can take this time to make improvements in her game that she insists she needs.

Although both players converted 60 percent of their break-point chances, scoring a total of 64 points in the match, Williams said that she "can do better."

Both of them will play against German Laura Siegemund and Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals of the HSBC Championship doubles on Thursday.

Following her return to the HSBC Champion, Williams also stated a crucial reason for her comeback.

"It's really about my kids getting to see me play. Olympia is a little bit older; Adira is very young," she said. "But it's also having an opportunity to still be able to possibly do that, one last time, is kind of cool and exciting."

Do you think Serena Williams can clinch another tournament victory to show her children why she was the best in the business? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Surjo Ray